Summitt's record speaks for itself

DES MOINES - Iconic Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt didn't speak at Friday's NCAA tournament regional news conference at Wells Fargo Arena.

She hasn't done those sorts of pre-game media events most of the season, a school sports information official said.

But her stamp on the ninth-ranked and second-seeded Lady Vols' program is strong as ever - even though her role as spokesperson has diminished since being diagnosed with early onset dementia, Alzheimer's type last fall.

“We've kind of got this system down,” said Tennessee associate head coach Holly Warlick, whose team faces upstart Kansas in Saturday's 11 a.m. Sweet 16 matchup. “Pat is still the head coach. Probably the only difference you'll see is I'm up on the sideline. It's almost like Pat and I have switched roles. She's doing a lot of the one-on-one stuff with our kids and I'm up directing and coaching the team through the game.”

Summitt - who turns 60 in June - is in her 38th season with the Lady Vols and hopes to return in 2012-13.

She's three wins shy of a staggering 1,100 triumphs.

Her team stands alone in having played in every NCAA women's tournament since its inception in 1982, and has competed in a record 18 Final Fours while winning eight national titles.

But the Lady Vols (26-8) take nothing for granted - not this season, not ever.

“We have to play like it's our last game,” said Tennessee star forward Glory Johnson, who grabbed a career-high 21 rebounds in her team's 63-48 win over DePaul. “For us seniors, it might be our last game so we have to take that into consideration and play as hard as we can for our teammates, our coaches and for our program.”

Summitt built the program, shepherding stars such as Chamique Holdsclaw from deep tournament run to deep tournament run.

Holdsclaw, a four-time all-American, started compiling a memory book once she heard about her coach's diagnosis.

She contacted other former players, who offered letters describing Summitt's influence on their lives.

“I know my relationship with Coach Summitt through the death of my grandmother and me going through my ups and down battling depression,” Holdsclaw said in a news release. “What I realized from these letters is coach has helped these players through some of the most difficult times of their lives. When I'm reading them, I'm thinking, ‘Wow, she's had such an impact on all our lives and not just basketball.'”

Summitt's produced a winning percentage as a coach (.841) that nearly trumps Iowa State Coach Fred Hoiberg's free-throw shooting percentage as a Cyclone (84.4).

The Lady Vols have not reached the championship game since winning it all in 2008, however, and that gnaws at coaches and players alike.

“For this group, it's hard for them not to look ahead,” Warlick said. “But they've done it. They've stayed in the moment. We're very proud of them in how they've played. We haven't probably played our best games, but we figure out a way to win. That's what it's about now.”